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The power of the planetarium projector

*Spoilers* I'm new here, so I don't know what the protocol is

One thing that has always confused me about SKU is the power of the planetarium projector in Akio's room. Specifically I wonder if it was so powerful that it could shape illusions anywhere on campus (Nemuro Memorial Hall, the dueling arena in the forest), or if when characters thought they were heading to the dueling arena in the forest, they were somehow redirected unaware to Akio's tower (this specifically is shown in second to last episode when Utena winds up in the tower after clearly going to the dueling arena)?

I don't know what to think.

Also, anyone know of any good articles about the planetarium projector or less specifically Akio's power of illusion?

Re: The power of the planetarium projector

One of my rambling essays that touches on this subject:

---- Akio's Projector, the Role of Willpower, and Juri as a Second Option

As for the projector, I don't think it was ever destroyed. We see it intact in the final scene of Akio's office, as Anthy is leaving. However, it may be a fact that it won't work without Anthy. It might be so, especially since she is always the one officiating the duels.

Personally however, I never interpreted it that way. To me, the projector is Akio's sole source of "supernatural" power. Everything else he does is clever deception and seduction. But, the projector is obviously more than just a simple machine. That's why I think it symbolizes the only power he really has: to deceive people.

(It should be pointed out that raising questions about exactly what Akio is capable of on a supernatural level just brings questions of what on earth happened at the end of the Black Rose arc, and a person could go mad trying to decide that...)

Although I'm not, er, a fan of religion, I think a case could be made for likening Akio to (the fictional) Satan. This is fair game because he explicitly identifies himself with Lucifer in the show. Well, the Devil's only true power is to tempt people, and while there's no one more diabolical at that task, it isn't mind control; people have to make their own choice to fall to temptation.

What it boils down to is willpower. So I think, rather, that the projector will obey the person who's will is strongest. The breaking open of the Prince's empty shell and of the castle ("crack the world's shell!") suggest to me that Utena's will, like the projector itself, is breaking free from Akio's influence.

Or, more simply, that Akio was about to lose the duel. Remember, the duels, even from the beginning of the show, aren't really about a contest of sword skill, it's a clash of wills. The strongest willed ALWAYS wins, and that's why Utena can win with ease over kendo stars, fencing club members, etc. etc. None of that matters. It's about the steel in your spirit, not your blade.

And this is also why Juri is the only one that Utena never technically defeats. Juri is the only Duelist besides Utena whose will is truly strong, and who resists the temptations that Akio plies the other Duelists with in his End of the World role. Even as Ruka is trying to tempt Juri with the power to obtain anything, she renounces it, saying she needs nothing but her own strength. In Utena, the people who lust after power the least are the ones who have it within them most. That's why Juri was undeniably Utena's most dangerous opponent.

Or rather, that Juri was perhaps the second most promising candidate to be Akio's sacrifice. Do I think Juri could've spiritually overpowered Akio as Utena did? Without a doubt. But, could she have cried tears of princely compassion and opened the gate? I'm uncertain. Juri is at bottom a good and righteous person, but she is proud, and can be cruel, as she is to Anthy herself early in the show. Yet, it's possible she could've been moved by the sight of Anthy at that time. It would've been very interesting to see her in that situation.